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Thursday, January 26, 2017

Bride and groom ask invited wedding guests to contribute toward their fertility treatment instead of gifts now they have 3 kids through IVF

Karen, 31, and Andrew, 39, a taxi driver, both from Glasgow, had been trying for four years to have a baby before tests revealed Andrew’s medical condition that meant he didn’t produce sperm.

Karen says: “When the tests came back showing Andrew had a genetic condition, we were devastated. We hadn’t known anything about it.

“We knew our only option was IVF treatment. But we had no idea how we were going to pay for it.

“But as we were getting married in May 2014 we decided to ask our guests to pay for our treatment as wedding presents.

“We had lived together for years so we didn’t need anything for the house and we didn’t want a big honeymoon.

“The only thing that was missing was a family together, so we decided to ask our guests for money towards IVF instead.

“No one said ‘no’. Some people got quite emotional. There were a few tears when people

realised what we wanted the money for.”

The couple married in front of family and friends at the Seamill Hydro Hotel in Ayrshire then flew to Cyprus for the treatment and a honeymoon in July last year using the £4,000 wedding gift money as well as £3,000 of their own savings.

Medics put four embryos into Karen’s womb, and the couple flew home.

Two weeks later, she found out she was pregnant but it was not until she had a scan at six weeks, that Karen found out she was carrying triplets.

She says: “Andrew and I couldn’t stop crying with joy.

“It was unbelievable news. The scan showed three little heartbeats. It was amazing.

“One embryo hadn’t taken but three had and I was pregnant with triplets.

“The doctors warned us that one of the embryos was loosening from the womb wall so we could lose that baby. Of course we worried.

“It was nerve wracking but further scans a few weeks later showed I was still pregnant with all three.

“That little third baby had hung on. It was amazing news.

“I was so sick in the early part of my pregnancy, I had to give up my job as a trainee accountant.

“I was admitted to hospital twice because I was so sick.

“But when I thought of those three little lives growing inside me, I know it was all worth it.”

When she was 27 weeks pregnant, Karen started bleeding and was rushed to Southern General Hospital in Glasgow.

The babies had to be delivered by emergency caesarean, all weighing just over 2lbs each.

Karen says: “They were absolutely tiny, I couldn’t see how anything so tiny could possibly survive. But all my babies were fighters.

“They were in hospital for 13 weeks and they started on breathing machines to help their lungs, but slowly they got stronger.

“When we were finally allowed to bring them home, I couldn’t believe how well they had done.

“The girls are still on oxygen at the moment to help them but they are all getting so much stronger.

“Caleb is the laid back one of the threesome while the girls are much more demanding.

“When we look at them we can’t believe how lucky we’ve been and it’s all down to our amazing wedding guests.